Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 278 Root Cause Analysis looks at all three types of causes. It involves investigating the patterns of negative effects, finding hidden flaws in the system, and discovering specific actions that contributed to the problem. This often means the Root Cause Analysis reveals more than one root case. Five Steps to Conduct a Root Cause Analysis 1. Define the Problem a. What do you see happening. b. What are the specific symptoms. 2. Collect Data a. What proof do you have that the problem exists. b. How long has the problem existed. c. What is the impact of the problem. You need to fully analyze a situation before you can look at factors that contributed to the problem. To maximize the effectiveness of your Root Cause Analysis, get everyone together who understands the situation. People who are most familiar with the problem can help lead you to a better understanding of the issues. A helpful approach is to look at the same situation from different perspectives; the clients, the staff who implement the solutions, the community, and the leadership. 3. Identify Possible Causal Factors a. What sequence of events led to the problem. b. What conditions allow the problem to occur. c. What other problems surround the occurrence of the central problem. During this stage, identify as many causal factors as possible. With Root Cause Analysis, you do not want to simply treat the most obvious causes – you want to dig deeper. Some tools that help identify causal factors are: • Appreciative Inquiry – Use the facts and ask, “So what?” to determine all the possible consequences of a fact. • Five Whys – Ask “Why?” until you get to the root of the problem. The ‘Five Whys’ is a method for rapidly determining the root cause of a problem. It involves asking ‘why’
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